The National Weather Service (NWS) said a loud explosion heard in northeast Ohio Tuesday morning may have been caused by a meteorite that entered the Earth’s atmosphere.
Officials noted that satellite images showed what appeared to be lightning around 9 a.m., but since there were no thunderstorms in the area, they believe the boom was likely related to a meteor, according to the Cleveland report.
They explained that the object would break up in the atmosphere before reaching the ground. The thunder-like sound reported by residents was likely a sonic boom, a shock wave created when the meteor traveled faster than the speed of sound, sending intense air pressure waves outward.
NWS meteorologist Brian Mitchell said, “We haven’t heard of anything actually hitting the ground.”
What does the video show?
The video, recorded at the Olmsted Falls bus garage and later shared on social media by Superintendent Dr. By Jim Lloyd, it shows a meteor passing through the sky. Residents throughout Northeast Ohio responded to the NWS post on X, saying they both heard and felt a loud boom that reportedly shook homes and disturbed pets.
At least one city issued a message to residents acknowledging the noise, saying officials were aware of the incident but had no confirmed explanation at the time, and urged people to refrain from calling 9-1-1. Users on Reddit also described hearing the sound across much of northern Ohio, from areas like Norwalk and Fremont in the west to Ashtabula in the east and south to communities including Brunswick, Columbia Station and Solon.
One Lakewood resident said the noise was so intense they initially thought a tree had hit their roof, while another person in Brooklyn described hearing what sounded like fireworks that “continued and rumbled like thunder.”
Ralph Harvey, a professor in Case Western Reserve University’s Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, said he also heard a sonic boom and believes it was likely caused by a meteor exploding in the atmosphere, the report said.
He noted that it remains uncertain whether any debris from the object reached the ground. He added that scientists are expected to analyze radar and other data to estimate the meteor’s size, speed and possible locations where any debris might land.
“If it was over Lake Erie, nobody would probably find anything,” he mentioned.
Harvey explained that meteors often enter the Earth’s atmosphere, but most of them disintegrate before reaching the ground. He noted that when such events occur at very high altitudes, they are less likely to produce sounds that can be heard on the surface.
He also said that meteors travel at speeds far in excess of the speed of sound.
